Paste dispenser and disposable cartridge therefor

ABSTRACT

Paste dispenser comprising a control housing having a plunger actuator including a rod slidably extending through the bottom wall into the housing and a paste cartridge assembly depending from the bottom wall of the housing and around the plunger actuator to be acted upon thereby and dispense paste. A lever, operable from outside the housing, acts through a ratchet mechanism to move the plunger actuator down to force the cartridge assembly to dispense paste. The cartridge assembly comprises a cartridge case removably mounted on the bottom of the control housing and a cartridge, containing the paste, slidably received in the case. The case has a nozzle aperture through the bottom thereof for the projection of a nozzle provided at the lower end of the cartridge, there being radial lugs, on the nozzle, inserted in notches around the nozzle aperture to prevent relative rotation of the case and the cartridge.

United States Patent Dessureault 14 1 Aug. 29, 1972 PASTE DISPENSER ANDDISPOSABLE CARTRIDGE THEREFOR [72] Inventor: Eloi Dessureault, 1412 LeCaron,

Montreal, 205 Quebec, Canada 22 Filed: on. 12, 1970 21 Appl. No.: 79,943

[52] US. Cl. ..222/183, 222/326, 222/391 [51] Int. Cl. ..G0lt 11/00 [58]Field of Search ..222/326, 391, 183, 327, 386

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,174,653 3/1965 McEachran..222/391 X 1,443,910 1/1923 Zearing, Jr. et al....222/327 X 2,340,4332/1944 Skinner ..222/391 2,175,601 10/1939 Grund ..222/386 X PrimaryExaminerRobert B. Reeves Assistant Examiner-John P. Shannon, Jr.Attorney-Raymond A. Robic [5 7 ABSTRACT Paste dispenser comprising acontrol housing having a plunger actuator including a rod slidablyextending through the bottom wall into the housing and a paste cartridgeassembly depending from the bottom wall of the housing and around theplunger actuator to be acted upon thereby and dispense paste. A lever.operable from outside the housing, acts through a ratchet mechanism tomove the plunger actuator down to force the cartridge assembly todispense paste. The cartridge assembly comprises a cartridge caseremovably mounted on the bottom of the control housing and a cartridge,containing the paste, slidably received in the case. The case has anozzle aperture through the bottom thereof for the projection of anozzle provided at the lower end of the cartridge, there being radiallugs, on the nozzle, inserted in notches around the nozzle aperture toprevent relative rotation of the case and the cartridge.

2 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTEDmszs m2 SHEET 2 OF 3 nvwsrvron EloiDESSUREAULT A TTORNEY PATENTEDAUBZ I912 3.681.339

SHEET 3 0f 3 INVE R Eloi DESSUREAULT PASTE DISPENSER AND DISPOSABLECARTRIDGE THEREFOR The present invention relates to a disposable pastecartridge and to a paste dispenser adapted to make use of such acartridge.

The cartridge and dispenser of my invention are useful for dispensingany product in the form of paste, such as tooth or cosmetic paste,lather, greases or glues having a certain consistency.

The main object of the invention lies in providing a paste cartridgewhich is extremely simple in construction so that its manufacturing costcan be held at a competitive level with that of the conventionaltoothpaste, lather, grease or glue collapsible containing tubes so thatit may be discarded when empty. Yet the cartridge of the invention isefficient in use as it can be entirely emptied without any difficultywith adequate control being provided over the amount of paste desiredand without the cartridge collapsing under pressure to block off theflow of the paste.

Another object of the invention is in the provision of a paste dispenseradapted to make use of a cartridge such as described above which canreadily be inserted and removed with no difficulty and which is disposedso that the paste will not soil the dispenser and so that the latterrequire hardly any cleaning whenever it is used for dispensingtoothpaste, cosmetics or the like. In fact, the dispenser can be usedwith the same degree of cleanliness as the conventional collapsibletubes.

The above-mentioned various objects of the invention can be attainedwith a disposable paste cartridge intended for use with a cartridge caseadapted removably to receive the cartridge, the cartridge being formedof a tubular body having a constant cross-section closed at one end by atransverse wall and containing a paste The transverse wall of the bodyhas a nozzle serving for dispensing the paste, a plunger slidablyreceived at the other end of the body pressurizing the paste and forcingit out of the body through the nozzle. Means is also provided to preventrotation of the body with respect to the cartridge case.

In a preferred form of the invention, the nozzle is a cylindrical memberand the means to prevent rotation of the nozzle consists of at least onelug that radially projects from the cylindrical member, the latter andthe lug being adapted to extend through a circular aperture of thecartridge case, which aperture is formed with a notch along theperiphery thereof serving for the insertion of the lug.

The paste dispenser itself is formed of a control housing and a plungeractuator having a rod slidably extending through the bottom wall of thehousing with manually operated means within the housing to move the roddownwardly, the means including an actuating lever operable from outsidethe housing. A cartridge case open at one end and closed at the otherend by a wall having a nozzle aperture therethrough is removably mountedto extend from the bottom wall of the housing around the plungeracmator. The disposable cartridge as aforedescribed is inserted in thecartridge case.

It is believed that a better understanding of the invention will beafforded by the following description of a preferred embodiment thereofhaving reference to the appended drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view, partly shown in crosssection and partlyexploded, of a dispenser made according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view, partly cut away, of a cartridge of theinvention about to be inserted in a cartridge case that is a part of thedispenser;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the dispensing end of the cartridgeand case assembly;

FIG. 4 is a transverse cross-sectional view of the control housing ofthe dispenser;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of part of the ratchet mechanism;

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of the control housing and wall mountingbracket assembly;

FIG. 7 is an end view of the wall mounting bracket assembly with part ofthe control housing being shown.

Referring now to FIGS. 1, 4 and 5, the dispenser will be seen tocomprise a control housing 1 having a removable wall 3 for ease inmounting the ratchet mechanism, wall 3 being held to the housing 1 by ascrew 5 and a rabbet 6.

A cartridge case 7 containing a cartridge 9 is removably mounted on thehousing 1 to project down from the bottom wall thereof. A plungeractuator, having a piston 11 inserted in the cartridge 9, has a pistonrod 13 that extends freely through the bottom and top walls ofhousing 1. The piston rod 13 has teeth running along one face thereofwhereby to define a rack. This rack 15 is in mesh with a gear 17rotatable on an axle l9 and solid with one end of the coaxial spacingcylinder 21 to the other end of which is fixedly secured a coaxialratchet wheel 23, all mounted for rotation in unison on axle 19, itselffixed on the opposite side walls 3, 3 of housing I. A radial manuallyoperable lever 25, part of which projects outside housing 1, is free torotate independently of the ratchet wheel 23. In inoperative position,lever 25 stands horizontal. It is biased to this position by a returnspring 27 of which one end is applied beneath the said lever 25 whilethe other end lies against the bottom of slit 29 after windingappropriately around the axle 19. Slit 29, as will be gathered, servesto allow displacement of the lever 25.

A pawl 31, biased by spring 33 toward engagement with the ratched wheel23, is pivotally mounted on the side of lever 25. A disengaging member35 hangs from the top wall of housing 1 with the lower end thereofstanding between the ratchet wheel 23 and the pawl 31 when the lever 25reaches its initial horizontal position. In this manner, when the lever25 stands in initial position, the piston 11 and its rod 13 can beraised simply by pulling on the knob 14; the wheel 23 being then freefrom pawl 31 by the interposition of the disengaging member 35, as isclearly shown in dotted lines in FIG. 4.

Now with reference to FIG. 6, the bottom wall of the housing 1 is formedwith a circular recess 37 having diametrically opposed notches 39 alongthe periphery thereof for the reception of a pair of correspondingwedging ears 41 on the cartridge case 7. After positioning the cars 41in the notches 39, the case 7 is turned clockwise and the cars 41 engagein grooves 43 (FIG. 1) formed in the bottom wall ofhousing 1. In view ofthe wedge shape of the ears 41, a slight pressure upon turning willensure firm attachment of the case 7 on the housing, in the manner of abayonet joint.

Now, with particular reference to FIG. 2 and 3, the cartridge 9 itselfhas a cylindrical body closed at one end and open at the other end. Itis filled with a paste 45 to be dispensed, the paste being pressedtowards the closed end by a plunger 47 slidably mounted in the cartridge9 and adapted to be moved by the plunger actuator 11, 13. The closed endof the cartridge 9 has a nozzle for the egress of the paste 45 in theform of a short tube 49 threaded at the free end for the reception of aclosing cap 51 (FIG. 1) and a pair of opposed radial tri angular lugs53.

The cartridge case 7 has an end wall 55 formed with a central circularaperture 57 for the passage of the nozzle tube 49 and diametricallyopposed notches 59 for the reception of the triangular lugs 53, asclearly shown in FIG. 3. This will prevent the cartridge to rotate inrelation to the case when the cap is removed or put on.

The dispenser is removably supported on a wall preferably by means ofthe wall bracket assembly as shown in FIG. 6. The latter is formed of awall plate 61 secured to the wall by means of screws 63 and providedwith an upstanding housing-retaining tongue 65 and a toothbrush rack 67fixed thereto by screws 69. The tongue 65 is inserted inside a U-shapedbracket 71 located behind the housing I to hold the dispenser in easilyremovable position.

As will be gathered from the foregoing description, the inventionprovides for a paste disposal cartridge of extremely simple constructionthat can easily compare in price and is better in efficiency than thecurrent collapsible paste tube. In combination with the dispenser, itwill provide very neat and convenient dispensal of paste.

I claim: 1. A paste dispenser comprising: a. a control housing having abottom wall; b. a plunger actuator including a rod and a piston at oneend thereof, said rod slidably extending through said bottom wall intosaid housing with said piston standing outwardly of said housing; 0.manually operable means within said housing to move said rod downwardly,said means comprismg: an actuating lever extending out of said housingto be operated from outside thereof; said lever being oscillatabledownwardly from an inoperative horizontal position and resilient meanssuitable to return said lever to said inoperative position;

teeth on said rod defining a rack;

a gear in mesh with said rack;

a ratchet wheel coaxial and rotatable with said gear;

means mounting said lever at one end for said oscillation independentlyof said gear and said ratchet wheel;

a pawl on said lever and resilient means to press said pawl intooperative engagement with said ratchet wheel, and

a stationary disengaging member in said housing disposed to remove saidpawl from said ratchet wheel as said lever reaches said inoperativehorizontal position and to allow engagement of said pawl and saidratchet wheel upon said lever moving downwardly away from saidinoperative position and under the action of said pawl resilient means,whereby in said inoperative position said plunger actuator is free to bepulled upwardly;

. a cartridge case having an open top and a bottom closed by a wallhaving a nozzle opening therethrough;

. a disposable and replaceable cartridge loosely inserted in saidcartridge case and comprising:

a hollow body slidably fitting into said case and closed at the bottomend by a transverse wall, the top end thereof being open for thereception of the piston of said plunger actuator;

a paste in said body;

a nozzle on said transverse wall in communication with the interior ofsaid hollow body for dispensing said paste; said nozzle being of a sizeoperatively to fit through said nozzle opening of said cartridge case;

a plunger slidably received at the top end of said body above said pasteto pressurize it when acted upon by the piston of said plunger actuatorto force said paste out of said body through said nozzle;

f. mounting means at said open top of said case and on the bottom wallof said housing operative removably to fix said case, with saidcartridge therein, on said housing and around said plunger actuatorwhereby the piston of said actuator can act on said plunger topressurize said paste and discharge it through said nozzle.

2. A paste dispenser as claimed in claim 1, wherein said mounting meansdefine:

a circular recess formed on the bottom wall of said housing and having asize to receive the top end of said casing;

grooves formed in the bottom wall of said housing around and openinginto said recess;

notches formed along said grooves and likewise opening into said recess,and wherein said case comprises at least one pair of diametricallyopposed wedging ears laterally projecting from the top thereof andreceived in said grooves through said notches to lock said case on saidhousing.

1. A paste dispenser comprising: a. a control housing having a bottomwall; b. a plunger actuator including a rod and a piston at one endthereof, said rod slidably extending through said bottom wall into saidhousing with said piston standing outwardly of said housing; c. manuallyoperable means within said housing to move said rod downwardly, saidmeans comprising: an actuating lever extending out of said housing to beoperated from outside thereof; said lever being oscillatable downwardlyfrom an inoperative horizontal position and resilient means suitable toreturn said lever to said inoperative position; teeth on said roddefining a rack; a gear in mesh with said rack; a ratchet wheel coaxialand rotatable with said gear; means mounting said lever at one end forsaid oscillation independently of said gear and said ratchet wheel; apawl on said lever and resilient means to press said pawl into operativeengagement with said ratchet wheel, and a stationary disengaging memberin said housing disposed to remove said pawl from said ratchet wheel assaid lever reaches said inoperative horizontal position and to allowengagement of said pawl and said ratchet wheel upon said lever movingdownwardly away from said inoperative position and under the action ofsaid pawl resilient means, whereby in said inoperative position saidplunger actuator is free to be pulled upwardly; d. a cartridge casehaving an open top and a bottom closed by a wall having a nozzle openingtherethrough; e. a disposable and replaceable cartridge loosely insertedin said cartridge case and comprising: a hollow body slidably fittinginto said case and closed at the bottom end by a transverse wall, thetop end thereof being open for the reception of the piston of saidplunger actuator; a paste in said body; a nozzle on said transverse wallin communication with the interior of said hollow body for dispensingsaid paste; said nozzle being of a size operatively to fit through saidnozzle opening of said cartridge case; a plunger slidably received atthe top end of said body above said paste to pressurize it when actedupon by the piston of said plunger actuator to force said paste out ofsaid body through said nozzle; f. mounting means at said open top ofsaid case and on the bottom wall of said housing operative removably tofix said case, with said cartridge therein, on said housing and aroundsaid plunger actuator whereby the piston of said actuator can act onsaid plunger to pressurize said paste and discharge it through saidnozzle.
 2. A paste dispenser as claimed in claim 1, wherein saidmounting means define: a circular recess formed on the bottom wall ofsaid housing and having a size to receive the top end of said casing;grooves formed in the bottom wall of said housing around and openinginto said recess; notches formed along said grooves and likewise openinginto said recess, and wherein said case comprises at least one pair ofdiametrically opposed wedging ears laterally projecting from the topthereof and received in said grooves through said notches to lock saidcase on said housing.